Dr. Ford may well have been the victim of a severe sexual assault by someone 36 years ago. Her allegations are so vague as to such basic matters as when and where that it is impossible for Judge Kavanaugh to *prove* his innocence.

But there are compelling reasons to believe his categorical denial. Let’s look at one set of reasons.

According to Ford’s letter, the assault occurred “in a suburban Maryland area home at a gathering that included me and four others.” Her WaPo account adds that the house was “not far from” the Columbia Country Club.

The “four others” that she and her lawyer have identified are Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, P.J. Smyth, and a female classmate of Ford’s. None of the four lived in the vicinity of the Columbia Country Club.

If you’re at a gathering of “four others” in someone’s home, you’d ordinarily think that the four others include the host who lives in the home. And that host would be the person least likely to act like a guest and most likely to use private areas of the house.

If the gathering was at Garrett’s house and Garrett was there, then one of the “four others” wasn’t there.

Kavanaugh categorically denies being at the gathering and committing the assault. Beyond his countless character witnesses from then and now, Judge and Smyth have informed the Senate Judiciary Committee that they recall no such gathering *at which Kavanaugh was present*.

The female classmate has not been heard from.

To be clear, I have no idea what, if anything, did or did not happen in that bedroom at the top of the stairs, and I therefore do not state, imply or insinuate that Garrett or anyone else committed the sexual assault that Ford alleges.

Further, if Ford is now mistakenly remembering Garrett to be Kavanaugh, I offer no view whether that mistaken remembrance dates from the gathering or developed at some point in the intervening years.

It is regrettable that private citizens are being drawn into this. But that is the product of Senator Feinstein’s shockingly shoddy handling of the whole matter.

If the matter had been handled as it should have been, the Committee would have investigated the matter over the summer and resolved it privately to everyone’s satisfaction without the smearing of Kavanaugh and the dragging of the names of others into the public eye.

Hold on. Mish - before you were pointing us to Doug Adams and his analysis of who is lying. I did not read it, but I'm going to guess that the conclusion was that Ford is lying?

Are you now believing that she was not lying but it is simply a case of mistaken identity? Wow - just wow.

Sechel

Sep 21, 2018

Apparently Whelen himself realizes how stupid his theory is.

I made an appalling and inexcusable mistake of judgment in posting the tweet thread in a way that identified Kavanaugh's Georgetown Prep classmate. I take full responsibility for that mistake, and I deeply apologize for it. I realize that does not undo the mistake.

Sechel

Sep 21, 2018

So what did Whelen do, go through an entire year book and look at google maps to try and find people that looked like Kavanaugh and accuse them of rape? This is sham detective work only meant to confuse

jberman4

Sep 21, 2018

Mish,

The fact that you give this drivel any credence is, well, sad.

I cannot wait to hear Ed Whelan's theory about the Catholic Church child-abuse scandal in Pa?

They are all lying too, right? Otherwise, why did they wait so long before coming forward?

Kinuachdrach

Sep 21, 2018

On second read -- a puzzle: How does Whelan know where the unidentified other schoolgirl lived, and can show her house on the map? She is unidentified!

Similar photos be damned! If a girl went upstairs with someone, and now he is lying on top of her, she is close enough to identify him properly -- unless either she had not seen the boys before and did not know them (and therefore cannot identify the one on top of her reliably), or she was totally under the influence of alcohol (and therefore cannot identify the guy she was with reliably).

Whelan's map does make the point that Chrissie was a long, long way from home when she claims she ran out of the house. Back to the unanswered question of how did she get home? Or did she just go down the street to another party?